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Sunday, October 17, 2010

Soft Pretzels (German "Bretzen") for our Oktoberfest 2010 Party

My mother was born and raised in Bavaria. She met my father, who was stationed in Salzburg, Austria. They married in Salzburg in1954, and she moved to America. My mom became a US Citizen in 1957, but she hung on to her Bavarian heritage with pride. She came from a lineage of great cooks, and her grandmother owned a successful restaurant in Bad Reichennhall, Bavarian. I can remember my mother, at a very young age, teaching me how to make our family's favorite recipes. My mother passed on October 13, 2002. Since then, I have started a family tradition, of hosting an Oktoberfest dinner in memory of my "Mutti".

I don't need written recipes, because I can make them from memory. (One of the reasons I started my blog was to recreate these recipes so that they won't be lost). Yesterday was our 7th Oktoberfest, so Craig put on Bavarian Oom-Pa-Pa music, to start the festive mood. At first, I could feel a big lump in my throat as I rolled up my sleeves and started making her dishes. Mutti is gone, but I felt a sense of her presence as I spent the next six hours making her Austrian Goulash, German Potato Salad, Spaetzle, and Red Cabbage. Of course, we had traditional sausages-- but just a few. The Goulash is my personal favorite dish. It's a stew with a rich sauce of tomato sauce and paprika.

To keep the carbs coming, I decided I wanted to make Bavarian "Bretzen"... otherwise known as Soft Pretzels, in America. Thanks to my lovely blogger friend, Monica, of "Lick the Bowl Good" I found the perfect recipe. Her stellar photos showed how to shape the dough into the pretzel twist. She promised they were fast and easy-- and I needed that. I had been in the kitchen for almost five hours and I had 90 minutes until the guests arrived-- could it be done by then? The answer is "yes"! I didn't photograph each step, because I was running out of time and energy. The steps were simple, and you can find a printable recipe at the bottom of this post. You start with warm water, sugar, salt and a packet of dry yeast. In five minutes it was foamy. Using my Kitchen Aid Stand mixer, and the dough hook, I added flour, and melted butter. That's it! In one hour, the dough had doubled...

The dough was divided into 8 pieces and rolled into a 24" coil. Shaping them was easy, thanks to Monica's great photos . I was in a rush, so I didn't have time to photograph the steps (click here, if you want to see Monica's). The fun part was dipping them into a pot of boiling water, with baking soda. That took 30 seconds, each. I brushed them with an egg wash and sprinkled kosher salt on them.

The aroma is intoxicating! The Bretzen were ready, just as our guests arrived. Traditionally, Bavarians like to slice this in half and butter them.

VERDICT: Fool-proof to make. Seriously fast and easy. They are fun to make. Kids would have fun rolling the dough. The flavor-- oh, Bavaria! Slightly crunch on the outside. Soft and chewy on the inside. I like being able to adjust how much salt I want on them. They are outstanding! I'm making more today. Yes, I am!

Craig and I prefer the with beer. Yeah, it's like that...

It was a labor of love, to present traditional and authentic German Oktoberfest dishes. If only my mom was alive to see this. Somehow, I can feel a sense of closeness to her when I am making her recipes. If you like German food, I hope you enjoy trying them. My mother would be pleased.

Prost, Mutti!

I'm submitting this recipe to "Yeastspotting". Now that the weather is cooler, I'll be baking more breads. This blog has a tempting array of beautiful photos and recipes.

35 comments:

This meal looks amazing, and yes it brings me right back to my days of living in Bavaria. . . spaetzle (specifically kasespaetzle) were my favorite. My parents seem to be Oktoberfest hopping this year, they went to the one in Munich (which apparently has become a huge drunken not-so-fun event, not like what it was 25 years ago. . .). Now they are heading to the second largest Oktoberfest in Blumenau Brazil. . . who knew?What a lovely way to honor your mother.

Your pretzels are picture perfect, Debby. How I love these with a dunk in some spicy mustard (even better with an icy cold beer on the side). It will soon be time for our German American festival here with lots of pretzel and beer. I love this time of year!

Debby, your bretzen are beautiful, and aren't you cute hiding behind one? :-D Like you, I feel close to my Mother when I make something of hers. She was first generation of Slovakian parents and her Mother, my grandmother, was a wonderful cook. The apple didn't fall far from the tree with my Mother. Her recipes were by touch or taste. I need to write them down (figure out the measurements versus "by the eye"). Thanks for the inspiration.

Such a wonderful recipe. I will be making these often. Do you think the texture would be sacrificed if you made bite-sized Bretzen? Well, I am making some for a fall get together.. we'll see : )Your mother was adorable. She reminds me of my Great Grandmother who was from Italy.P.S. I also want to try your Spaetzle recipe. Thank you thank you ; ) many blessings to you.

Hi, I've been making these regularly now and always get good reviews, especially from German friends. Thanks so much for the recipe. Re the question about yeast in NZ I use one sachet of the Edmonds dry yeast (comes in a box of 12 sachets) works a treat!

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Welcome to my internet kitchen. Please, sit back and relax, and watch me make delicious food and bakery recipes. Most of my recipes are simple, flavorful meals-- and a few baked treats. I focus on using fresh, seasonal ingredients and I try to avoid using boxed mixes and processed foods. I'm having fun learning how to cook like my grandmother once did-- from scratch! I hope that my step-by-step photos will inspire a timid cook to try them. Even if you're a seasoned cook, hopefully you'll learn a new tip or two.

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